Pre-Visit Preparation
Read All About It
Farce is one of the oldest forms of
comedy. The word farce is used to
describe the elements of a type of
comedy, as well as a form of drama
itself. Theatrical farce can trace its
roots to Greek and Roman times,
where examples can be found in the
plays of the Greek Aristophanes and
the Roman Plautus. Plautus’ works
contain many of the elements -broad comedy, exaggerated characters and humorous misunderstandings -that would become the trademarks of theatrical farce for many centuries to
come.
The word farce itself has an interesting history. It is derived from the Old
Latin word “farsus” meaning “to stuff.” In the Middle Ages, a “farse” referred
to the expansion or elaboration of church liturgy by the clergy. In 15th
century France, the Old French word “farce” which means stuffing, began to
be used to refer to the jokes, gags, or buffoonery that were inserted by
actors into the texts of religious dramas. Eventually, these “stuffings” or
asides would take on a life of their own and be performed independently.
In the 16th century, the stock characters and humorous traditions of the Italian Commedia
dell’ Arte would have an enormous impact on the development of popular farce. As the
Commedia’s traveling troupes performed their comic acts throughout Europe, they spread
the traditions of farce to many countries. (The Commedia’s brand of comedy would also
give rise to the Punch and Judy puppet show tradition.) By the late 17th century in
England, the word farce was being used to describe a short, humorous play.
A farce is basically an exaggerated comedy that invites an audience to laugh at absurd or
highly improbable situations. Farce is generally considered to be a lower form of comedy.
It is less sophisticated, for instance, than a comedy of ideas that incorporates moral or
A Pre-Visit Reading Activity
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philosophical issues
into the humor.
Farces were designed
as light
entertainment, they
were the sitcoms of
their day. To that
end, farces demand
little from an
audience other than
a willingness to laugh.
Unlike other forms of dramatic comedy, farce does not
rely on sophisticated plots or especially well-developed
characters; it relies on comic actions and events. Farce is
also more physically oriented than other types of comedy
and its accompanying pratfalls, double-takes and other
exaggerated facial expressions demand split-second timing
from actors to be effective.
Moliere
Although farce is often considered to be an intellectually
inferior form of comedy, many great writers have written
farces or been influenced by the genre. In the late 1600s,
the great French comic actor Moliere earned the favor of
King Louis XIV while performing in a farce with his acting
troupe.
Moliere would go on to become France’s most famous comic playwright, writing
comedies such as Tartuffe that raised farce to the level of high art. Shakespeare wrote a
number of plays that are considered farces including, The Comedy of Errors. He also
interwove elements of farce into his other plays, such as the character of Falstaff in the
Henry chronicles, or the comic subplot in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other authors
such as Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw would also be influenced by the farce
tradition.
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What makes a farce, a farce? While it can be difficult to separate farce from other forms
of comedy, there are a number of elements that are trademarks of the genre:
highly exaggerated fast paced plots and
absurd situations
physical buffoonery
complicated misunderstandings
mistaken or disguised identities of the
characters
scheming or secrecy on the part of the
characters
violent horseplay
wordplay and puns, often rude
stereotypical or stock characters
a chain reaction of events that escalate and
get beyond the control of the characters
As a form of comedy, farce has had a lasting tradition in theater and other forms of
entertainment. In the 20th century, farce would find new expression in the work of
comic entertainers such as Charlie Chaplin, the Keystone Cops, and the Marx Brothers.
Farce became a staple of the vaudeville tradition in France, England and the U.S. Today,
farce remains the stock in trade of many television situation comedies and theatrical
films. The English comic actor John Cleese is a modern day master of farce; his overthe-top performances on Monty Python’s Flying Circus and the classic television series
Fawlty Towers, incorporate all the trademark elements of farce. The comedies of Mel
Brooks and Jim Carrey owe much of their humor to the traditions of farce.
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Both the original farce and a musical version by Sir Arthur Sullivan are still performed
today. As you view our performance, use the checklist on the previous page to help
you spot the elements that identify Box and Cox as comic farce.
Tryon Palace Field Guide to Box and Cox
Box and Cox is a mid-19th century one-act farce. It was written by English playwright
John Maddison Morton and first produced in London in 1847 at the Royal Lyceum
Theater. Box and Cox is the story of two men who unknowingly share the same
lodging. Since one works at night and the other by day and thus never see each other,
their greedy landlady has rented them both the same room. An unexpected holiday,
however, brings them both together and thus begins a chain reaction of silliness that
escalates until the final surprise.
Interestingly, Box and Cox has made its way into the English lexicon. The phrase (as in
“a Box and Cox situation”) is used to describe two people who are always in the same
place, but never at the same time; or it is used to refer to some kind of a shared
arrangement.
ords
to Know
know the definitions
of the words below.
protuberant
vociferate
defunct
bolster
cheroots
ingenious
cravat
pantaloons
imprudent
rasher
effrontery
trifle
importunities
peremptory
benevolent
disconsolate
contrivance
abide
waistcoat
effluvia
antipathy
precipice
lucifer
purloins
hob
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